One Piece's Politics and Becoming King of the Pirates

[@GreayWorks]

Nice! Always love it when people talk about this with One Piece cause I find a lot of fans tend to write it off or undermine this aspect of the story.

[@nonyabusiness9682]

one thing I think causes people to deny the existence of politics in one piece, is that when they hear that they immediately assume that means the core cast must have some manor of political agenda. Luffy undoubtedly represents a lot of political ideas, but the man himself could not give less of a damn. he's someone who mostly always does the objectively correct thing, on a complete whim. One piece politics manifest themselves in the world the core cast interacts with, not the core cast itself, and I think a lot of stubborn people struggle to process this. the only straw hats I could argue hold strong political beliefs are sanji, chopper,jinbe and robin. and even then they mostly hone in on one aspect, being the human right to food, medicine and racial equality. robin is the exception because of her unique circumstances and the fact shes very well-read.

[@palemeadows]

luffy is literally just a good person who thinks its fucking weird to hurt innocent people and colonise. he can act on it and dgaf

[@zakxusenpai4715]

I might slightly(very slightly) put franky in that category considering the whole ancient weapons thing

[@nonyabusiness9682]

@zakxusenpai4715 to be honest, id like to think "nukes bad" is an non partison issue

[@Maraisdiue]

This luffy guy seems like some sort of warrior of liberation 🤔

[@Zthewise]

Just don't call him a hero. Hero share their meat, and Luffy wants to eat his meat himself.

[@samuelmena4889]

You’re a KING for mentioning how relevant One Piece is to commentating on the genocide unfolding in Gaza

[@danzoom]

I started One Piece recently and got to Skypeia in Octover. It was trippy.

[@jaqui7046]

Palestinians are not freedom fighters tho they basically sided with crocodile in alabasta 😂

[@ApocalypseInherited]

​@@jaqui7046 Even worse, the ones who helped croc didn't KNOW what Crocs end goal was. Palestinians do.

[@poopymcmonke]

​@@jaqui7046bro doesnt know the histpry of israel😂🫵

[@tylercafe1260]

​@@jaqui7046Israel doesn't exist.

[@TheScar3cro]

People who say, One Piece is apolitical are either seeing themselves on the "wrong" side of the spectrum or have no reading comprehension at all.

[@Epck]

Giant f u to modern sensibility

[@emperorluffy6001]

What they're referring to s stories that place politics/personal activism above the actual storytelling. They're saying One Piece doesn't do that. And they're correct.

[@g9n646]

@@emperorluffy6001no, they didn’t say it like that. They are saying it is apolitical, blinded to anything political in One Piece, which is very hard to not be seen.

[@venmissa]

@@g9n646I started loving One Piece so much more when I realized there was a lot of political messaging. And I realized it was going in that direction as soon as episode 2 or chapter 3 when Koby’s whole idea of right and wrong was challenged at Shellstown. And that only scratched the surface.

[@sarafontanini7051]

there's a whole arc about how virulent and insidious racism is and how it can take root in even victims of it or even people who never experienced it at all, AND one of the contenders for big bad is the ruler of the world. OF COURSE it's political.

[@soundcheck9457]

The most important work of art of the 21st century. There is no other epos that is being created WEEKLY. What competition does One Piece have? Certainly not other shonen series. Its competition these days is Game of Thrones, Harry Potter (I know it's over), and every other huge epic series that has ambitions to be an encyclopedia of human nature. And One Piece succeeds. It shows people and life in a much more complex and nuanced way than Game of Thrones, which boils everything down to the idea of ​​Homo homini lupus est. Unlike Harry Potter, it actually grows with the reader - not just by changing the tone of the story, but by delving into the nuances of how the world works. Unlike Star Wars, One Piece's message is grounded in the real world to the right degree, but still remains fantasy (so it doesn't run the risk of being misunderstood, as Star Wars did during the Reagan era). But most importantly, One Piece's tone is anomalous for the very cynical 21st century. It is literally antagonistic to the spirit of our time. It literally challenges it. It certainly won't lead to revolution - but it certainly shows that culture is capable of more than just reflecting the "depressive vibe" of the era. and, by the way, it seems to me, but the number of people who think that One Piece is apolitical is less and less. I made a video essay on One Piece, it's called "Как «Ван-Пис» исследует сложные темы и почему адаптация от Netflix получилась не хуже аниме" (How One Piece Explores Complex Themes and Why the Netflix Adaptation Is Just as Good as the Anime) from the Kinopoisk channel. Over 510,000 views. For each chapter I used the slogan "liberty, equality, fraternity", referring to the French revolution. As is clear from the titles, I talk a lot about politics. And oddly enough, a lot of people in the comments shared my (and your!) view of Oda's work. One Piece continues to inspire those who do not agree with the totalitarian regime of their own country - like me in Russia, for example. Thank you for this video.

[@salam6926]

One Piece already outsales batman (which starts in year 1939) do you understand sheer madness of the situation here ? One piece will join the Bible and the qoran as books with most sales

[@VulpineNinja]

Thank you for raising awareness on 🍉 through a One Piece video

[@May_Green]

Great video! One reason I want to keep continuing One Piece till the end is because I'm very curious on what is his political allignment and his final conclusion in all intricate politics of the wold he created.

[@palemeadows]

it’s obvious, isn’t it? he’s of the idea that government (or some sort of ruler/chief) is needed (it is.) but it NEEDS to be good people, they will get rid of the dragons and elders and imu clearly. but i wonder how he’ll handle making sure the rulers are always good people?

[@g9n646]

Subscribed! I appreciate you have the courage to mention what is happening currently. Onwards to Elbaf!

[@frandaesquina]

Luffy shows It is not enough to be against a political system If we do not propose happiness as an end goal. Being goofy as the Path to freedom, and a party as The visual representation of what freedom means, is How Oda shows us that this matters. Great video

[@minarose8723]

FINALLY FINALLY SOMEONE TALKING ABOUT THE HEAVY POLITICS OF ONE PIECEEEE. It’s so overlooked to the point I feel like no one ever takes it seriously.

[@owenp1996]

Excellent work dude but I gotta point out big news Morgans is likely the one who dubbed Roger the Pirate King. He also seemingly has his own agenda with minimal influence from the marines or world gov

[@poopymcmonke]

I think the only agenda morgans has is selling headlines

[@sarafontanini7051]

@@poopymcmonke so what you're saying is his agenda is....BIG NEWS

[@IsaacClodfelter]

In relations to child's dreams being important on a reread I noticed something that I can't help but feel is important in some way. Amongst the trash that became Wappol-metal there was some well worn toys. It would be a heartbreaking continuation of Wappol's antagonism if Wappol-metal was made out of toys that children had poured their hopes and dreams into mixed with some steel.

[@BrahHD]

Wow, nice little detail I never considered!

[@tobysinbad]

Fnaf ass bastard wappol theory

[@jrk1666]

"The line of good and evil beat through the heart of every men"

[@sarafontanini7051]

it says a lot that the biggest contender for main villain in the story is the absolute ruler of the world who is not a sneering, moustache twirling villain who hurts peopel for fun but a cold, reclusive figure who's not even seen as a human but is treated more like a god by those in the know who doesn't simply CARE about the people they rule over.

[@Paupinobo13]

the amount of people that doesn't see this as a political manga. u just gained a sub cause u have reading comprehension

[@landynmemester]

This is a great video, I bet views will ramp up suddenly.

[@sshakirr]

The Video in itself was already spectacular, but when you connected the travesties and war crimes committed by the world government to that of war crimes committed on the people of Palestine, that was the cherry on top bro. Art imitates life, and life then imitates art. Both have incomprehensible influence on the other. keep pushin on bro, you goated already!

[@vik8596]

When it was mentioned that Doflamingo felt he was justified because his lineage were the original rulers of Dressrosa… I knew exactly what that was about

[@karlpeterjensenlarsen1516]

Good takes, the political analysis of One Piece should get more attention.

[@May_Green]

Btw, comic title in general is still hard to be accepted as academic subject because the significance of literature subject need to be tested by time. More importantly it's not ended yet, making it hard to fully analyze it for now. But comic as a media started to gained attention and academic research, and it suppose to be possible to put up established title if the researcher can build convincing reason and prove its' academic significance. 🤔

[@drewshine627]

Sorry to be picky about this, but you said epitaph. When you met epithet. For king of the pirates

[@thomastakesatollforthedark2231]

Wouldn't relating Skypeia to the Japanese colonisation of Hokaido make more sense since one-piece is a manga?

[@gidi3250]

He's a American, what makes you think they know much of other countries history?

[@thomastakesatollforthedark2231]

@@gidi3250 good point

[@ApocalypseInherited]

To be fair, many countries go through similar events in their history. I think the individual place of the inspiration matters significantly less than the human experience with the inspiring thing. Slavery, for example. Where Oda got inspired by it is irrelevant, compared to humans everywhere being inspired and touched by the same subject. It's the idea he is trying to convey which matters. Why does the place of colonization matter compared to many worldwide already experiencing or going through it? It's the idea.

[@thomastakesatollforthedark2231]

@@ApocalypseInherited I would say it does matter cause it reveals biases on the author's part and small nuances due to the differences between the events through history. In this case, the skypeians wearing feather head dresses shows it's inspired by Indians, rather than ainu, despite how close the ainu are to Japanese history which you can read in for a whim

[@ApocalypseInherited]

@@thomastakesatollforthedark2231 I never said it did not matter. Simply that it matters less. The problem with deconstructing everything is that those who do so constantly, lose the ability to construct, as all they do is deconstruct, and literally everything and everyone has bias as far as deconstructing goes, so what is the point? Bias does not inherently make something bad. Calling something biased, isn't an insult. It's simply a fact b

[@jdgjordan]

I was in Japan and saw one piece tampons.... all other series have failed marketing!

[@czms922]

We need more videos like this so people can get it through there head that one piece is telling us Alot more then just the fun of adventure

[@the120cxx]

I dunno about the communist manefesto bit but that aside seems to check out well

[@ethanwood2934]

It’s pretty clear to those who truly understand it that the story is meant to pervade culture. It is simply a vehicle for Democratic socialist visions of the world. Idk if oda himself is a demsoc by title but he is definitely one internally based on the themes he advocates for through luffy and what the character represents. It’s called one peace for a reason 😭😂

[@miohondawhichismywifegrill662]

one piece

[@ethanwood2934]

@@miohondawhichismywifegrill662 you misunderstand my point. One piece is a homophone for one peace. It’s clear that is the ultimate end of the story. A world under one peace by the king of the pirates

[@poopymcmonke]

You spelled anarchist wrong

[@viola308]

yes bro the entire world is keyed into American politics and oda definitely isn't just telling a story about corruption in general

[@ethanwood2934]

@@viola308 when did I say anything about American politics?

[@buddhidev7877]

One who was given (so-called) authority tends to abuse the power.

[@danytientcheu4501]

Political attack on titans its one of the thee best part of the show

[@firstlast9648]

actually insanely accurate

[@ultima1033]

Crackhead energy? Sounds like someone who's affiliated with Mugiwara. It also sounds like some BIG NEWS!!!

[@mobbs6426]

The easiest way to summarise One Piece is anti authoritarian. Is your goal sunshine and puppies? Doesn't really matter if you're oppressing people to get there. The communist oppresses the bourgeoisie. Luffy isn't against the bourgeoisie, just the ones who abuse their power. The zealot oppresses the unbeliever. Luffy doesn't care about your beliefs, just that they don't trample on others. What he values is in fact, what he identifies with, is a will for freedom. Strive to be free and protect the freedom of others, you have Luffy's fist

[@sarafontanini7051]

luffy's morality is simple: if he likes you, you're his friend, he will fight for you. If he doesn't like you, he will punch you in the face. Reasons do not concern him.

[@dliessmgg]

good video 👍

[@SilvrSavior]

The police are coming with a battering ram. Oh no! Run Captain Crackhead! Get your crew of lunatics out of there!

[@CopingContinuous]

But frfr this was great, subscribed.

[@OscarPalacios-u6e]

I love your videos

[@aaronflanary271]

"Why arr you here." Missed a pun

[@tylercafe1260]

To be fair if you landed on any continent and asked "Who owns this?" and their response is "What is ownership?" Yeah it's pretty much free for the taking.

[@mprejects8091]

Yeah, screw Native Americans, take that land! (This is a joke, I hate the United States, more by the day)

[@anilaisor]

41:25 yes because when people say politics they dont mean kings queens, soldiers, mayors ruling class, poverty etc and you know that and who people hate is the disingenuous and the token usage of minorities to cover the lack of competency of the writer, who made the entire point the "politics" and every thing else is second, and its added in such a way that causes the product to be worse example your video, every thing you said was well researched and well implemented the points are easy to understand and able to be expanded then at the end you had to add the real life "politics" of hey a black person in a movie is not bad yes every body knows that and no one is against that the problem is not politics is "politics" and you know the difference, and your video flow had to come to a screaming halt because you wanted to add that, now did this make this video bad, no, but it did make it worse now a good example is this video as well the palestine part even if some one has a different opinion over the conflict in this video it was implemented well and even more what side you are on does not matter because the point is the erasure of information wow you did "politics" well and bad in the same video and i hope this explains what is the problem

[@MrRourk]

Hope you made rent money.

[@CopingContinuous]

I don’t think anyone calls them “the pirateerees” anymore lol but I know who you mean

[@miratunatar]

If it were not for pirates, the marines would not be needed. If it were not for marines, the pirates would not be needed.

[@zacknelson8918]

Should used the English clips for ppl who are just listening and not watching

[@Saucedup16]

Incredible video, I definitely think that the politics of one piece is the most important part of its story telling and overall theme. And you hit every nail on the head. I do have a question though. Do you watch or know of HasanAbi? Because SO many of your points I’ve heard him talk about 😂

[@BrahHD]

I've watched clips of him from time to time and yeah, some of his points do align with the talking points in this video. Bizarre how things line up sometimes

[@DragonBall-Manga-1984]

👍

[@CopingContinuous]

Wait did you just take mugiwara no goofy’s nickname crackhead for luffy?

[@d4bad_bot]

Meh, a 44 min video essay comparine one piece to American politics?

[@joshualynn6459]

I tapped the like button not noticing the likes were at 69...so I unliked lol I'm not going to be THAT guy! 😅

[@BrahHD]

You did me proud! 😂

[@danimusi394]

i love one piece as a palestinian, he frees Palestine like 10 times

[@espelhodasconstelacoes]

Awesome work! God bless ya and Jesus loves ya :)

[@zxyeliz]

Thanks for the upload. I know, I know, I said it before and I’ll say it again, I've watched the series a few times. After going through the series more than once, I can say that I understand some of the appeal. I'm even catching up on the manga, which I don't usually do. Anyway, anime content creators like yourself go a long way in making series like this one more enjoyable. Thanks, again for the upload. Keep up the good work. Will you go to Heaven when you die? Here’s a quick test: Have you ever lied, stolen, or used God’s name in vain? Jesus said, whoever looks with lust has already committed adultery in their heart. If you have done these things, God sees you as a lying, thieving, blasphemous, adulterer at heart, and the Bible warns that one day God will punish you in a terrible place called Hell. But God is not willing that any should perish. Sinners broke God’s Law and Jesus paid their fine. This means that God can legally dismiss their case: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Then Jesus rose from the dead, defeating death. Today, repent and trust Jesus, and God will give you eternal life as a free gift. Then read the Bible daily and obey it. God will never fail you.

[@AlexT7916]

4:51 I don't really think it's an official epitaph by the Government, just something the media slapped onto Rogers name once he reached the end of the Grand Line

[@BrahHD]

@@AlexT7916 Oops, it was supposed to be ephitet. Not epitaph. Sorry for the mispronouncing 😅😅